Vincent "Vini" Poncia Jr. (born April 29, 1942) is an American musician,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ge ...

and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Life and career

The 1960s

In the 1960s, Poncia formed a songwriting team with Peter Anders (née Peter Andreoli). An album of songs co-written by these childhood friends, ''The Anders & Poncia Album'', was produced by

Richard Perry Richard Van Perry (born June 18, 1942) is an American record producer. He began as a performer in his adolescence while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late 1960s and early 197 ...

and released in 1969. Their songs were recorded by artists including

the Ronettes The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. T ...

, Bobby Bloom, and

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...

. Anders and Poncia were also members of the Trade Winds and the Innocence. The Trade Winds's debut single "New York is a Lonely Town" reached #32 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot 100 chart in 1965. In 1968, with Frankie Meluso (aka Mell) and Peter Anders, Poncia founded MAP (Mell Anders Poncia) City Records in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Their company included a small

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large eno ...

brought from a 3 track studio to four tracks (on a Scully Machine) by their chief engineer, Peter H. Rosen, who recorded sixteen albums before the company dissolved in 1970.

The 1970s

During the 1970s, Poncia became

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

's co-writer, and appeared on several of his solo albums: '' Ringo'' (1973), ''

Goodnight Vienna ''Goodnight Vienna'' is the fourth studio album by Ringo Starr. It was recorded in the summer of 1974 in Los Angeles, and released later that year. ''Goodnight Vienna'' followed the commercially successful predecessor '' Ringo'', and Starr used ...

'' (1974), ''

Ringo's Rotogravure ''Ringo's Rotogravure'' is the fifth studio album by Ringo Starr, released in 1976. It was the last project to feature active involvement from all four former Beatles before John Lennon's murder in 1980, and the second of two projects following th ...

'' (1976), '' Ringo the 4th'' (1977), and '' Bad Boy'' (1978). He also produced albums for

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

and

Lynda Carter Lynda Jean Cordova Carter (born July 24, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss World USA 1972 and finished in the top 15 at the Miss World 1972 pageant. Carter is best known as the star of t ...

's 1978 album ''

Portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

.'' As a songwriter, he wrote songs for

Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers, August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songwr ...

, Martha Reeves, and

Tommy James Tommy James (born Thomas Gregory Jackson; April 29, 1947), also known as Tommy Tadger, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, widely known as frontman of the 1960s rock band Tommy James and the Shondells, who were know ...

. Poncia is also listed as co-writer on "

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" is a song credited to British singer Leo Sayer, taken from his 1976 album ''Endless Flight''. It reached No. 1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, making it his first top single in the United States, and reac ...

" with

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

. He was also the producer for The Faragher Brothers albums, ''Open Your Eyes'' (1978) and ''The Faraghers'' (1979). In 1978, he produced

Peter Criss George Peter John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known by his stage name Peter Criss, is a retired American musician, best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. Criss established The Catm ...

' 1978

solo album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

. At Criss's prompting, Poncia was brought in to produce

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction ...

's 1979 album '' Dynasty'' and co-wrote their hit song "

I Was Made for Lovin' You "I Was Made for Lovin' You" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1979 album, ''Dynasty''. It was released as the A-side of their first single from the album, with "Hard Times" as the B-side. History The so ...

" from that album.

The 1980s

Poncia also produced another Kiss album, 1980's '' Unmasked''. He sang backup vocals and helped with songwriting on both albums, having eight co-writing credits on '' Unmasked''. In 1981, he produced the album ''Turn Out The Lights'' for the band

Tycoon A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

. Poncia also produced the Detroit rock band Adrenalin and their song "Road of the Gypsy", from the film ''

Iron Eagle ''Iron Eagle'' is a 1986 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie who co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Alyn Elders, and starring Jason Gedrick and Louis Gossett Jr.Mann, Roderick"Sidney Furie leads the cheer for 'Iron Eagle'."''Los Angeles Ti ...

'' in 1985. He also produced DC Drive and their self-titled album in 1991. Poncia produced Criss's second post-Kiss solo album, 1982's '' Let Me Rock You'', and he was credited as co-writer for five songs on Kiss's 1989 release, ''

Hot in the Shade ''Hot in the Shade'' is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released in 1989. It is the first Kiss studio album since 1981's '' Music From "The Elder"'' to feature lead vocals from someone other than Paul Stanley or Gene Simmon ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poncia, Vini 1942 births Living people Record producers from Rhode Island Songwriters from Rhode Island American male singers Kiss (band) personnel Grammy Award winners People from Providence, Rhode Island